'The Children of Men' by P.D. James (1992)
I borrowed this from the library after seeing and enjoying the recent movie (starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine). The book is very different to the movie but raises similar issues.
The story takes place in England in the near future. Throughout the world no children have been born for 25 years as all men have become infertile. No cause for this has been found. The protagonist is an Oxford History professor now aged about 50 named Theo. Through his eyes we see how a depressed nation is handling the approach of the end of mankind. Many settlements and roads have been abandoned as there are not the numbers to need them or maintain them. The Council of England, governed by Theo's remote, godlike cousin, Xan, arrange mass suicides and endeavour to keep people's spirits up. It is hinted that this is not the case in other parts of the world where sacrificial blood rites have reappeared.
Theo is then approached by a small group of dissidents who want to use him to voice their concerns to his cousin. Intitially, the Five Fishes as they call themselves, appear to be inept, disorganised complainers. However, the Council take heed of their actions (which includes disrupting a mass suicide) and Theo is warned of further contact with them. It is at this point that one of the group reveals that she may be pregnant......
I really enjoyed this book. The best passages described life in an ageing nation with no young people around to provide care or even a reason for existence. The schools ahve all been boarded up, the playgrounds removed. Mental illness is common in women of child bearing age and many now purchase realistic dolls which are replaced every six months with the next size up. The sense that the country is 'winding down' to disappear is prevalent and rather unsettling. Nature is taking back the land - driving on many roads in now hazardous as they have fallen into disrepair, and forests have an almost primeval sense of dark foreboding.
Theo is not always likeable, but then he doesn't appear to like himself. But he is a keen observer and the emotional aspect of the situation, and how different people have reacted to it, is eloquently explored. A world without children seems eerily quiet and still. The narrative switches from Theo's diary passages (a device that at first seemed laboured and awkward but settles down quickly) to a third person narrative. Some insight into Theo's psyche is provided and I wonder if he goes along with the Five Fishes partly to introduce some noise and activity into his stultified life; boredom seems to be the usual condition.
The movie handles the same themes differently and is well worth watching. It focusses less on the minutiaie of an absent future (eg museums debating what to do with artefacts that there will never be anyone to view) and more on the politics of the situation (everyone being issued with suicide pills for example). I enjoyed both the film and the book but for different reasons. I admit I have a penchant for those novels/movies where mankind seems to teeter on the brink of extermination (eg 'The Day of the Triffids', 'The Kraken Wakes', 'The Death of Grass', 'The Day After Tomorrow' etc) and this fits neatly in to that trend. However, it ends on a fairly optimistic note!
Apart from the good story, and some thought of how essential it is that the old can rely on the young both for physical and emotional comfort, I'm not sure if there is a clear subtext. There are shades of Darwinism and eugenics within the story. The government is a near-fascist dictatorship which relies strongly on the charisma of its leader and, in their inept way the Five Fishes could be seen as freedom fighters. Science, described as the new god of the twentieth century, has ultimately failed and has not been able to save mankind. Most of humanity has reverted to barbarism in the face of impending doom. But the reader is left to draw their own conclusions about these facets - as indeed we are about the future of humanity.
Wikipedia has a very detailed narrative description here which includes spoilers.
The story takes place in England in the near future. Throughout the world no children have been born for 25 years as all men have become infertile. No cause for this has been found. The protagonist is an Oxford History professor now aged about 50 named Theo. Through his eyes we see how a depressed nation is handling the approach of the end of mankind. Many settlements and roads have been abandoned as there are not the numbers to need them or maintain them. The Council of England, governed by Theo's remote, godlike cousin, Xan, arrange mass suicides and endeavour to keep people's spirits up. It is hinted that this is not the case in other parts of the world where sacrificial blood rites have reappeared.
Theo is then approached by a small group of dissidents who want to use him to voice their concerns to his cousin. Intitially, the Five Fishes as they call themselves, appear to be inept, disorganised complainers. However, the Council take heed of their actions (which includes disrupting a mass suicide) and Theo is warned of further contact with them. It is at this point that one of the group reveals that she may be pregnant......
I really enjoyed this book. The best passages described life in an ageing nation with no young people around to provide care or even a reason for existence. The schools ahve all been boarded up, the playgrounds removed. Mental illness is common in women of child bearing age and many now purchase realistic dolls which are replaced every six months with the next size up. The sense that the country is 'winding down' to disappear is prevalent and rather unsettling. Nature is taking back the land - driving on many roads in now hazardous as they have fallen into disrepair, and forests have an almost primeval sense of dark foreboding.
Theo is not always likeable, but then he doesn't appear to like himself. But he is a keen observer and the emotional aspect of the situation, and how different people have reacted to it, is eloquently explored. A world without children seems eerily quiet and still. The narrative switches from Theo's diary passages (a device that at first seemed laboured and awkward but settles down quickly) to a third person narrative. Some insight into Theo's psyche is provided and I wonder if he goes along with the Five Fishes partly to introduce some noise and activity into his stultified life; boredom seems to be the usual condition.
The movie handles the same themes differently and is well worth watching. It focusses less on the minutiaie of an absent future (eg museums debating what to do with artefacts that there will never be anyone to view) and more on the politics of the situation (everyone being issued with suicide pills for example). I enjoyed both the film and the book but for different reasons. I admit I have a penchant for those novels/movies where mankind seems to teeter on the brink of extermination (eg 'The Day of the Triffids', 'The Kraken Wakes', 'The Death of Grass', 'The Day After Tomorrow' etc) and this fits neatly in to that trend. However, it ends on a fairly optimistic note!
Apart from the good story, and some thought of how essential it is that the old can rely on the young both for physical and emotional comfort, I'm not sure if there is a clear subtext. There are shades of Darwinism and eugenics within the story. The government is a near-fascist dictatorship which relies strongly on the charisma of its leader and, in their inept way the Five Fishes could be seen as freedom fighters. Science, described as the new god of the twentieth century, has ultimately failed and has not been able to save mankind. Most of humanity has reverted to barbarism in the face of impending doom. But the reader is left to draw their own conclusions about these facets - as indeed we are about the future of humanity.
Wikipedia has a very detailed narrative description here which includes spoilers.
Labels: end of the world, movie, P.D. James, science fiction
posted by Social Work Dad at 4:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home